The Reality of Playing the Strategy Game (3)

commons.wikimedia.org

What is your plan when you know the moves of your opposition and vice-versa?

Many weeks ago, UCLA's played against the University of Utah's in a game of football. The Utah's team current offensive coordinator Norm Chow worked under Rick Neuheisel, UCLA head coach for the last three football seasons. Both people knew how each other thinks.

Said Neuheisel: "It's the ultimate game of rock, paper, scissors. I know what he does in situations, but he knows I know and may do something different."

So, who had the advantage?

The person who understands the Big Tangible Picture and have the grander strategic experience to make the good decisions. He would understand the impact of the weather in the terrain and utilizes that factor into the strategy.

The final score was: Utah 33 UCLA 6

Click here for the aftermath of not achieving the given goal.

Notes from the Compass Desk

In the sport competition business, almost everyone in the sport play-calling business knows what their counterpart is going to decide in certain situations. They have near to full access to video data and numeric data. After hours of compiling and reviewing the data, they are focused on determining their counterpart's situational tendencies.

It is rare that one changes their decision approach in midstream. They regularly focused on their strengths while concealing their obvious weaknesses. Then, there are those who who can change their decision approach. They usually have a very strong strategic foundation that enables them to be efficient and be flexible.

It is almost the same way in real life. Most people regularly ramrodded their approach to their opposition without ever assessing the Big Tangible Picture of their settings (and beyond). Sometimes, they encountered the risk-consequences that could change their grand objective and their tactical approach. ...

#

In your marketplace, do your competitors know your objectives and your tactics? Better yet, do you know your competitors objectives and tactics?

Focusing on achieving peak efficiency is what most companies do. ... After awhile, achieving efficiency could only go so far. The smart companies usually focus on beating their competitors while achieving the optimal position within their marketplace. ... Knowing the plans of your competitor and beating them to the punch lowers the long term costs and the timeline. Thawing the opposition's plans is the essence of strategic effectiveness.

Do you know how to achieve this unique objective?

{updated on 12.08.2011}